


What the Darkness Hides

by Dangerously_Demonic



Series: The Legacy of Darth Letum [1]
Category: Alien Series, Star Wars - All Media Types
Genre: Gen, Origin Story
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-08-20
Updated: 2017-08-20
Packaged: 2018-12-17 14:50:47
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,824
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11853837
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dangerously_Demonic/pseuds/Dangerously_Demonic
Summary: Everyone has a beginning and everyone has a story. Sometimes, a person's life takes an unexpected turn. For Clayton, a Republic Army assignment on some backwater planet resulted in such a turn, and it all started with an encounter with a very Alien life form. (Set during The Old Republic era)





	What the Darkness Hides

**Author's Note:**

> The origin of my favorite little Murder Kitten. Probably going to be quite a few chapters since I have about two years of in story material to cover. Good times. I don't expect there to be many instances of canon characters beyond a passing mention. This is mostly going to deal with original characters.

Valnor was an insignificant little planet, its only bit of value was as a mining world. So when there was talk of miners being attacked in one of the mines, Clayton and the rest of his squad immediately volunteered. It would be a simple mission to clear out a nest of native wildlife, but certainly better than standing around doing nothing. Initially, they had found a vaguely humanoid in shape animal which had spooked off deeper into the cave. Naturally, this prompted jokes about how such and such's face had scared it off.

Since they hadn’t found any other signs of life, the squad figured that it had been the thing bothering the miners. It was assumed to be something that'd wandered in from the nearby forest, which happened from time to time. So, they continued deeper into the cave to hunt it down or at least chase it off. However, they hadn’t expected the things to hunt them instead. Every so often, there'd be a sound behind them, but considering the cave was being mined, it was disregarded as anything important. However, once they reached the middle section of the cave where the attacks had happened, everything went to hell.

One moment, the cave had been quiet and the next, screams and blaster fire mingled with snarls and shrieks. Suddenly, the walls were alive as the things climbed down from the ceiling, lashing out with blade tipped tails and with a hidden inner jaw capable of punching through a man’s skull. The creature that had spooked earlier had evidently decided to return with its friends and they weren't very happy with the squad's intrusion.

Clayton had been trained to deal with Imperial soldiers, sith lords, and the occasional pissy wildlife. He hadn’t been trained to deal with these monstrosities. Like the still living members of his squad, he chose to run and quickly managed to become lost in the maze-like cave system. “...Fuck.” It seemed that he was alone for the moment, but sooner or later, the damned things would find him.

Letting out a shaky breath, he quickly reloaded his blaster rifle and tapped his earpiece in hopes of signalling the rest of his squad or even base. Instead, he got an earful of painful static. So much for that idea. Grimacing, he shouldered his rifle and started back the way he came. He needed to get out of the cave. If he was lucky, he’d run into the rest of his squad and if he was even luckier, Jedi.

Something tripped him, sending him sprawling onto the cave floor and his rifle sliding several feet away from him. Before he could get up, he saw the tail swish past his face and a low hiss from behind him. Whimpering, he started scrambling towards the rifle, hoping that by some lucky chance, he could reach it before the creature killed him.

No such luck. A sudden, blinding pain in his side caused him to scream as the creature grabbed him, dug its claws in, and flipped him onto his back. Wide eyed, he stared up at the eyeless beast, then focused on the perpetual grin it had, knowing what was hidden by the teeth. The mouth opened and the inner jaws gnashed in preparation for the killing strike. At least the death would be quick, Clayton thought grimly.

The world went black for what seemed to be for an instant. One of the beast’s sharp shrieks jolted him awake and pain lanced up his side from his earlier injury. Instead of killing him, the fucking things had attached him to the wall. Somewhere from his right, he heard the humming of a lightsaber followed by the sudden crackle of energy as it cut through something.

“Hey! **HEY!** Over here! Someone help me!” The act of yelling did nothing for the pain in his side, but his desperation to be freed overruled the pain for the time being. Despite this, he still felt light headed and woozy. Moments later, a squadmate appeared in front of him. He couldn’t really tell who it was thanks to his vision going in and out of focus. The next thing he knew, he was suddenly free from the resin the creatures had partially in cased him in and someone was manhandling him to the floor. Someone else was yelling, but it didn’t really matter. He was just tired and he sunk into darkness again.

“...Him to Tython for care.”

Blearily, Clayton opened his eyes and stared up at the ceiling of the medical bay. His side ached and felt hot, as if it was infected. Tugging at his shirt, he frowned at the bandage that had been put over his injury but looked up when a Zabrak Jedi and human doctor stepped into the room. Immediately, he was on edge from how grave the two looked. The Jedi, at least, didn’t waste time.

“Once you’re able to walk, we’ll be leaving for Tython. The creatures you encountered in the cave system were the remains of a dark side project, similar to Rakghouls. Unfortunately, you were infected.” This was said with all the calmness of someone speaking about the weather.

“Wha- How the hell do you know that I’m infected? What the hell were those things?” This was a bit much to find out immediately after waking up. Despite the pain, Clayton pushed himself up into a sitting position. People infected by Rakghouls tended to change pretty quickly, and obviously he was still human.

“We don’t really know a lot about them, just that the Sith Lord who created them, Karness Murr,” The name meant nothing to Clayton, “called them ‘Xenomorphs’. They’re capable of infecting other life forms and spreading that way, much like Rakghouls. However, unlike Rakghouls, this takes a much longer time. Given that Sith Alchemy and the dark side of the force is involved, your commander has agreed to send you with us.”

More than anything, this told Clayton absolutely nothing except that he was probably fucked in a lot of different ways, “Again, how the fuck do you know I’m infected?”

The Jedi made a slight face of distaste at the cursing, “I can sense the darkness in you and…” He nodded at the doctor who moved to Clayton and carefully removed the bandage. Underneath were claw marks where the Xenomorph had grabbed him. They were half healed and surrounded by an ugly green bruise, but spider webbing away from the injuries were black colored, squiggly lines.

Oh. _Oh_. That...Looked bad. He didn’t really know about this ‘sensing the darkness’ bullshit that the Jedi was on about, but the injury sure as hell didn’t look normal. “I..Ok. Yeah.” His voice was a bit quieter and tinged with uncertainty. “Knock me up with some pain meds and let's go.”

The doctor shook her head, “You’ve stopped responding to medication. We used two full kolto packs on you and were only able to get your injury to heal that much.” Pulling open a drawer, she began to pull out supplies to rebandage his stomach. “You shouldn’t have even woken up. You’re on enough medication to knock out a Bantha because you woke up during surgery and punched one of the nurses.”

Normally, he would have found the idea hilarious, but it just made his concern even worse. “I don’t remember that and...Yeah. My side still hurts.” Finally he sighed. “Look, if this is as bad as you’re saying, then we should just go. I should be alright as long as I don’t move too fast.”

He was given a curt nod by the Jedi who helped him to his feet. Keeping an arm wrapped around his stomach, he followed after the other man who remained silent. It took time to get to the Jedi’s ship due to Clayton needing to stop every so often to catch his breath. Once they finally reached it, he all but flopped down into a chair to catch his breath. His side ached and almost burned, but he suspected that it was due to all the activity.

Only when the Jedi came to check on him did he open his eyes again. “Who are you, anyway?”

He was given a faint smile, “I am Master Xasos, but please, just call me Xasos. There’s no need for formalities. How are you feeling?”

“Side hurts.”

Xasos had a sympathetic look on his face, “I’d offer to try and heal you, but I already tried when we were on Valnor. That’s why I’m taking you to Tython since the Order has a few skilled healers there. In the meantime, you should rest.”

“I think I’m already doing that.” Clayton wheezed out a slight laugh. Laying down probably wouldn’t be a bad idea, but he didn’t think he had the strength to walk at the moment. Still, he had more questions than answers and before the Jedi could respond, he was already speaking, “What were those things? You sort of told me, but it didn’t make much sense.”

“Karness Murr was a sith lord who created the Rakghoul plague, but the Xenomorphs were an earlier experiment. Why they were created first, no one really knows. Perhaps they were a prototype deemed too uncontrollable, maybe they were an attempt at immortality. In any case, they were thought to be destroyed, but evidently not. I’ve already contacted the Council and a Jedi strike team is enroute to handle everything. Beyond that, not a lot is known about them.” Xasos explained after sitting down across from Clayton.

“That makes a bit more sense, but what about this...Infection bullshit you talked about?”

Once more, Xasos gave him a disapproving look at his language, “...Language, Clayton. The Rakghoul plague is a somewhat viral, and those infected change within a few hours. Xenormophs are a bit different. They’re capable of breeding and use other life forms as hosts. However, no eggs were discovered, so you’re safe in that regard. When no eggs are present, they’ll cocoon their unlucky victims and change them in that fashion.”

“Ok, well, I got rescued before that happened, obviously. So how am I still infected and why is my injury all weird looking?”

“Once the process has been started, it’ll still continue, even after the person has been removed from the cocoon. Being cocooned merely speeds up the process. Your injury, I think, has to do with it coming in contact with the resin used. I’m...Not entire sure, to be honest. As I mentioned, not a lot is really known about the Xenomorphs and everything I’m telling you is second hand knowledge along with some healthy speculation. I’m sorry I can’t tell you more.” Despite the seriousness of the situation, Xasos was the epitome of Jedi calm, something that irked Clayton deep down.

“So, tell me about yourself, Clayton.”

He blinked a few times, pulled out of his irritated thoughts by the sound of his name. “There really isn’t much to say. I’m from Corellia and my family has always been involved with the military. So I signed up with the Republic Army once I finished school. The Sacking of Coruscant just encouraged me. I lost a few friends during that. I sort of expected to get shipped to one of the border planets, but instead…” He gave a one shouldered shrug. It was clear that he hadn’t.

While Valnor was a ‘contested’ planet, it didn’t have the importance as many of the Core Worlds. Really, the only important thing it had to offer was mining resources. So, despite being contested, the only major thing that happened was the occasional fire fight spats.

“I see. Well, Force willing, the healers at the Temple will get you back in fighting shape.”

* * *

 

The trip to Tython took a full day and instead of feeling better, Clayton only felt worse. While the bruising had gotten better in appearance, it was slowly being consumed by the black lines. They had the appearance of veins, but were firm to the touch yet felt overly sensitive. To make matters worse, the burning sensation in his side had gotten more intense and was spreading. Dutifully, he had informed Xasos about these changes, but there was little the Jedi could do but reassure him.

Once he had gotten off the ship, Clayton couldn’t help but pause. The planet was honestly beautiful. Situated in the mountains, the Jedi Temple was surrounded by snow covered peaks with various evergreen type trees dotting the grounds in front of it. The air was cool and crisp, free of the air contaminates he had grown up with on Corellia. It was almost idyllic and frankly, a fitting place for the Jedi to call home.

“Come on.” Xasos gently urged, “We need to get you situated with the healers. Once you’re taken care of, I’ll give you a tour of the place.”

Clayton nodded and slowly continued after the other man. Considering how he was starting to feel, waiting probably wasn’t in his best interests. That didn’t mean he wasn’t taking in the sights. To his left, a Twi’lek was over seeing a small group of children with lightsabers. He couldn’t hear what was being said, but surmised that it was some sort of training session. While he was immensely curious, the ache in his side was starting to override that curiosity.

Upon entering the temple, he was greeted by two staircases and nestled between them was some sort of giant, floating, multi-sided artefact. While the prospect of climbing up the stairs wasn’t appealing, he was curious about the artefact. He was about to ask what it was when a human Jedi in her early twenties hurried over to them. She offered Xasos a slight head bow.

“Master Xasos, when I had been informed that you were landing, I took the liberty of gathering the healers. They’re waiting in the east wing meditation room.” Glancing to Clayton, she gave him a bright smile.

“Thank you, Jadilia. If you don’t mind escorting him? I need to report to the Council.” However, instead of waiting for her reply, Xasos was already walking up the stairs.

Turning to Clayton, Jadilia gave another bright smile. “Follow me. I know you’re likely in a lot of pain right now, but the meditation room isn’t very far.” Unlike the Jedi Master, she showed concern when he had to pause to catch his breath and quietly reassured him that things would be fine.

While the meditation room wasn’t that far, as the Jedi had said, it still felt like he was having to walk a mile. With each step, the ache got stronger and it wasn’t a result of his activity. It was as if the injury was responding to the mere presence of all the Jedi around him. After ushering him into a room, Jadilia gave him a final smile before closing the door. Turning around, Clayton was faced with seven Jedi of different species. One by one, they put their hands together and bowed their heads in greeting.

A yellow skinned Twi’lik approached him and gently led him to an over stuffed mat on the floor which was in the center of seven more. There, he was helped down to his knees in a kneeling position. The other healers each moved to a mat and adopted a similar position with the Twi’lek being the final one.

This time, a female Togruta spoke, “Please, try to relax. We’re only here to help you.” After Clayton gave a slight nod of acknowledgement, the Jedi gave a nod to the others around him and then closed their eyes, bowing their heads to meditate.

At first, nothing happened and Clayton found himself bored. There hadn’t been any changes in his condition since he had stepped into the Temple. His side still throbbed and felt hot. It wasn’t getting worse, but it wasn’t getting better. Letting out a soft sigh, he focused on the intricate patterns on the wall to try and pass the time.

However, the throbbing ache suddenly became worse, spreading to the rest of his body before it felt as if his veins were on fire. With a sharp noise of pain, he leaned forward before falling over onto his side and curling up, hoping that would help to stop the pain. The pain that rolled through him made his earlier pain seem minuscule in comparison. It felt like all of his nerves were screaming at once.

Someone touched his arm and he screamed like he had just been touched by a hot iron, the pain radiating out through his body. Dimly, he was aware of how he hadn’t stopped screaming and how there was a flurry of activity around him, with people shouting and touching him. It all seemed so distant. He knew he was in pain, but it just...Didn’t matter anymore.

His relief finally came when he blacked out.


End file.
